Sewing machine lubrication



April 25, 1950 I J. D. KARLE 2,505,330

SEWING MACHINE LUBRICATION Filed'sept. 11, 1945 s sheets-sheet Filed Sept. ll.. 1945 5 Sheets-.Sheet 2 April 2 5; 195o J, D. KARLE 2,505,330

SEWING MACHINE LUBRJCATIONV lume/Mofo www April 25, 1950 J. D. KARLE 2,505,330

SEWING MACHINE LUBRICATION Filed sept. 11, 1945 s sheets-sheet 5 `Patented pr. 25, 1950 SEWING MACHINE LUBRICATION John D. Karle, Roselle Park, N. J., assignor to The VSinger Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 11, 1945, Serial No. 615,511

(Cl. Ilz-256) 4 Claims.

This invention relates to sewing machines and more particularly to means for lubricating the rotary take-up of a sewing machine.

One of the primary objects of this invention is to provide means for automatically supplying oil from a reservoir to a bearing of a rotary take-up while the machine is operating, and to return excess oil thrown oi by the take-up bearing to the reservoir, thereby creating a closed circulatory system for the oil.

Another object of this invention is to provide oil-collecting guards for the take-up and other actuating mechanism within the hollow-head and to return the oil collected by the oil guards to the hollow-arm of the machine frame.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the invention comprises the devices, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment of the invention, from which the several features of the invention and the advantages attained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is an enlarged vertical sectional View taken through the head and bracket-arm of a sewing machine embodying my invention.

' Fig. 2 is a head end elevation with a part of the take-up mechanism broken away to show some of the parts in section.

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the machine shown in Fig. 1, the cover-plate of the bracket-arm being removed to expose the operating mechanism beneath.

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views taken substantially along the lines 4-4 and 5-5 of Fig. 3, and including the cover-plate.

In its embodiment selected for illustration, my invention is shown as applied to the rotary takeup of the lock-stitch sewing machine disclosed in my Patent No. 2,332,087 dated October 19, 1943.

As shown, the machine has a frame including a bracket-arm I0 terminating in a hollow-head I I. Journaled in the bearings I2 and I3 in the bracket-arm is a needle-bar actuating shaft I4. Fixed to the end of the shaft I4 which extends into the hollow-head I I is a crank-disk I5 carrying a crank-pin I6 which is embraced by an apervtured boss I1 on one end of a. needle-bar link I8;

the other end of the link being operatively connected with the vertically reciprocatory needlebar I9 by the pivot-stud 29. The needle-bar I9 is `iourrlaled in spaced bearings 2 I, 22 and carries an eye-pointed needle 23 which is adapted to cooperate with a loop-taker (not shown) in the formation of stitches.

The rotary take-up mechanism comprises a spiral gear 24 xed to the shaft I4 and meshing with a second spiral gear 25 fixed to one end of a tubular shaft 23 which extends through and is journaled in a bearing 21 carried by the bracketarm IU of the machine. The shaft 26 extends through the hollow-head II and through a ballbearing 28 carried by a cover-plate 29 which is secured to the hollow-head II. The plate 29 is formed with an aperture through which the shaft 26 extends and-around the aperture the plate 29 extends forwardly forming a sleeve-like portion 30 which is embraced by a sun-gear 3l xed by a screw 32 to the plate 29. From the above it will be understood that the shaft 26 extends through the stationary sun-gear 3| and is adapted to be rotated by the needle-bar shaft I4 relative thereto.

Fixed to the end of the shaft 26 and rotatable therewith is a disk 34 carrying a sleeve bearing 35 in which is journaled the hub 33 of a small disk 3'I. The hub 36 is embraced by a metal insert 38 of a fiber planet gear 39 which meshes with the stationary sun-gear 3I. The ratio of these gears is as 1 is to 1. It will be understood that the gear 39, hub 36 and disk 3l rotate as a unit in the bearing 35 and are rigidly clamped in assembled relationship by a bolt 40 which extends through the hub of the disk and has its threaded end received by a nut 4I which is fixed to the gear 39. Carried by the small disk 3l, at a distance from its axis of rotation, is a thread-engaging stud 42 which supports a guard-disk 44. The large disk 34 carries a thread-engaging element 45 (Fig. 2) which supports an outer guarddisk 45. 'IheV above described mechanism is fully shown and described in my prior Patent No. 2,332,087, previously referred to, to which reference may be had for a more detailed disclosure.

AWhen the machine is operating, oil is supplied under pressure through the conduit 46 to the bore 41 in the needle-bar shaft I4. In order to supply oil to the bearing surface between the sleeve 35 and hub 35, I have provided a radial duct 48 which extends through the wall of the shaft I4 and through the gear 24. Oil is thrown through the duct 48 onto the gear 25, from whence it is thrown by centrifugal force against the scroll shaped wall 49 which depends from a cover-plate 50 secured to the top of the arm I5 by the screws 5I. The oil when it strikes the wall 49 is projected forwardly into a reservoir or oil-collecting trough 52 milled in the arm I I. The trough 52 has a bottom wall to provide a low spot from which the oil is led through a duct 53 formed in the depending portion 43 of the upper wall of the arm Il). Carried by the depending wall portion 43 and communicating with the duct 53 is a stationary tube 54 which extends through the bore 55 in the shaft 26 in spacedrelation to the shaft. A radial duct 56 connects the bore 55 in the shaft 25 with the bushing`-35 which is recessed to receive a pad 51' and-a wick;58 ofv fibrous material. From the above, it will be understood that the oil thrown oi `by the gear 25 will be collected in the trough 52 and flow by gravity from the trough through the conduit'53, tube 54 and duct 5B to the pad 51 and wick 58 which bears against the hub 36 ofthe dis-k 31 and lubricates it. While the pad 51 and wick 58 act as metering devices, some excess oil reaches the bearing and is thrown oif by centrifugalY force. In order to catch the excess oil, I have 'formed the plate 29 with a circular groove 5I! which encircles the disk 34, and the disk 34 is formed with an oil sling 5I. The groove 6I) provides a sump 62 in which the excess oil collects. Extending from the sump 52 is a conduit 63 which passes through the hollow-head and extends into a stationarv tube 54 which is carried by the partitionwall 55 of the hollow-head I0. From the above, it will be obvious that the oilis supplied from the hollow bracket-arm to the vbearing of therotary take-up and the excess oil thrown oif by the bearing is collected and returned to the hollow bracket-arm, thereby forming a closed circuit for the oil. It will beunderstood that the oil in the reservoir 52 will ow by gravity through the conduit 53 and tube 54, and the excess oil will flow aloner the bore of the tubular shaft back into the hollow bracket-arm. In short, the tube 54 delivers an over-abundance of nil to the duet 56 and the excess is returned to the bracketarm cavity through the bore 55of the shaft 25.

Oil is also supplied through the borey 41 of the shaft Id and the duct 59 to the bearingy of the crank-pin I6. In order to catch any Surplus oil thrown off bv the crank-pin, I have secured a circularly shaped guard 66 to the endv of the shaft I4 bv a screw G1. The guard 6B is arranged to catch the oil which is thrown off by centrifugal action from the crank-nin bearing. When the machine is stopped and the needle-bar movedV to its raised position, as shown in Fig.` 1 the oil will flow from the guard @Ii through a tube 68. The tube IEB passesthrough the crank-fdisk I5 and overhangs a milled groove 69 formed in the bearing bushingr IZ. The oil delivered to the groove 59 bv they tube 38 ows through the conduit 1I! and back into the hollow bracket-arm.

Also, oil flows through the radial duct 1I into a chamber 12 which is packed with wicking: the oil supplied to this chamber flowing through suitable onenings (not shown) in the bearing bushing 21 to the bearing surface between the shaft 25 and sleeve bearing 21. In order to nrevent excess oil from escaping along the shaft 26 and into the hollow-head II the shaft 23 is formed with a spiral oil groove 14 which terminates in a radial duct 15 in the shaft 26. When the machine is operating, the spiral groove 14 causes the oil to travel along the shaft 28 and forces it through the radial duct 15 into the bore 55 of the shaft 26, the oil being discharged through the end of the shaft into the hollow bracket-arm.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim herein is:

1. A take-up for sewing machines having a hollow bracket-arm comprising, a tubular shaft, gears for rotating said shaft, a take-up disk carried by said shaft and `having a bearing to be lubricated, means for constantly feeding oil under v pressure to the working faces of said gears, a

removable cover-plate located above said gears and having an oil deecting wall, a trough formed in the `bracket-arm and adapted to receive oil thrown from said gears and deflected by said wall, conduits for conducting the oil from said trough into the bore of the tubular shaft, and a radial conduit for conducting the oil from said shaft bore to said bearing.

2. A take-up for sewing machines having a hollow bracket-arm, comprising a tubular shaft, gearsfor rotating said shaft, a take-updisk carried by said'sha'ft and khaving a bearing to be lubricated, means for feeding o-il under pressure to said gears, a trough formed in the bracketarm and adapted to receive oil thrown from said gears, conduits for conducting the oil from said trough into the bore of the tubular shaft, a radially arranged conduit intersecting the bore of the shaft for conducting oil to said bearing, and a plate formed with a groove which encircles said take-up disk for collecting excess oil thrown off by saidV bearing and means for returning the oil by gravity to the hollow bracket-arm.

3e` Arsewing machine having in combination, a hollow bracket-arm, a needle-bar shaft journaled in said arm, a take-up shaft journaled in said arm, gearing. connecting said shafts, means forl supplying oil under pressure to said gears, a reservoir formedin said arm, a removable coverplate overlying said gears and formedrwith a depending curved portion which is adapted to deflect oil thrown by said gears intosaid reservoir, a rotary-take-up ac tuatedby said take-up shaft and having abearing, means for conducting oil from said reservoirk to said bearing, and means encircling said take-up for collecting excess oil thrown from said` bearing and returning it by gravity tothe interior of the bracket-arm.

4. A sewing machine having incombination, a hollow bracket-arm, aneedle-bar shaft journaled in said arm and'formed witha longitudinal bore, a tubular rotary take-up actuating shaft journaled in said arm, gearing connecting said shafts, means for supplying oil under pressure throughithe bore in said needle-bar shaft and including a radial du'ctin'one Yof said gears for conducting the oil toy thev work-ing faces 'of said gears, a reservoir formed insaid bracket-arm above the level'o saidv takef-up actuating shaft, a cover-plate overlying said gears and formed with a curved portion arranged to deflect oil thrown off by said gears into saidreservoir, a tubeY carried by saidbracket-arm andy extending into said take-up actuating shaft, said tube being connectedv to said reservoirV by a conduit formed inthe bracketearm, a rotary take-up disk actuatedby; said. shaft v and vcarrying a bearing located atadis't'ance from the .center of said disk, and a 5 radial conduit formed in said disk for supplying Number oil from Said tubular shaft to said bearing. 1,998,588 JOI-IN D. KARLE. 2,120,210 2,128,573 y REFERENCES CITED 5 2,206,285 The following references are of record in the 21261581 fue of this patent: UNITED STATES PATENTS, Number Name Date 10 1,135,601 Marshall Apr. 1'3, 1915 Number 1,221,254 Weis Apr. 3, 1917 259,222 1,960,512 500,764

Roos et al May 29, 1934 Name Date Myers Apr. 23, 1935 Clayton June 7, 1938 Myers Aug. 30, 1938 Kaier July 2, 1940 Zonis Dec. 23, 1941 Sauer July 6, 1943 Karle Oct. 19, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Nov. 25, 1926 France Jan. 6, 1920 

